THE WILL TO LOVE - Vital Christianity

18Our faith and love are tested when we become close enough to people where they canreally hurt us. This is part of the trials that the Bible talks about that will make us purer, strongerand better. As it says concerning Jesus, “. . . He learned obedience from what He suffered . . .”(Heb 5:8). Why should it be different with us? Is the servant greater than his Master?TEAM WORKWe have already seen how that when we become Christians we become members ofGod’s family. And the Bible is clear that this also means that we become members of oneanother. We constitute the body of Christ, the Church. As we study the New Testament itbecomes clear that we are to become functioning members of that body (1 Co 12; Eph 4:1-16).Paul put it,“It was He (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some tobe evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s peoplefor works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we allreach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and becomemature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”Then we will longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blownhere and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness ofmen in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will inall things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him thewhole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows andbuilds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Eph 4:11-16).Here we see the concern that the apostle has that each child of God become a maturebeliever built up to attain to the “whole measure of the fullness of Christ”(v. 13). Paul points outthat God has given to the Church, His body, ministers and ministries to prepare all of “God’speople for works of service”(v. 12). He states that we would “in all things grow up into Christour Head” and that from Him the “whole body, joined and held together by every supportingligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (vv. 15-16).But how are we to built up? How are we to grow toward maturity? Paul answers, “aseach does its work.” That is, as each believer does his part.In talking about mutual up building the New Testament uses the word allelon, mostfrequently translated “one another.” This word is used 58 times if we exclude the gospels. Pauluses it the most, mentioning it 40 times. Many of these concepts and commands are repeated butthere are about 22 different injunctions using this phrase that we ought to heed.